After staring blankly at the spot the demon vanished from, Kat finally found it within her to start cleaning up the mess. She did the best she could scraping the wax off the floor but it looked as though it was going to leave a stain.

Eventually she made it to bed but she was so on edge, every little sound set her off and she couldn't sleep until the sun was coming up. At that point she only had two hours to rest before the alarm went off, letting her know she had to get up and get ready for the audition.

She'd already taken a shower last night but her body was so tense she decided to try again. She tied her curly hair back in a messy bun, the best she could manage since her hair would not be tamed. She got in the shower and let the heat hit her shoulders, hoping to ease some of the tension.

Kat walked out of the shower and wrapped herself up in a towel before wiping the steam off the mirror. She glanced down at her makeup bag and wondered how easily she would be able to cover up how tired her eyes were today. She looked up in the mirror and saw the demon in the reflection. She screamed and spun around.

"What are you doing??" She hissed, clutching the towel tightly.

The demon's eyes briefly dropped up and down her body before returning to her eyes. He seemed much calmer than he'd been last night.

"I want to go home," he said simply. "And you are apparently my only ticket there. So we need to work with each other," he said, gesturing between them.

"Are you insane?? I'm practically naked, get out of my bathroom!" Kat said, pointing to the door.

"I noticed," he said, raising an eyebrow. "If you didn't wear clothes like you had last night, you might not live alone. It actually seems to be not too bad under there," he said, his eyes darting down her body again.

"Oh my God! Get out!" She said, pushing him to the door.

"Fine but I do expect cooperation when you're done getting dressed," he said, letting her direct him out the door. "And please don't refer to that tyrant in my presence," he added bitterly.

She slammed the door shut and rested her forehead against it, breathing in and out to try to remain calm. It was all insane and she didn't know what to do but she did know she didn't want to miss out on this audition. She'd worked too hard for it and she wasn't going to let some paranormal being get in her way.

Oh, God, I am going crazy...

There was no time for craziness. She quickly got dressed and put on makeup, letting her hair stay down but using detangle to get it to look as nice as it would. She put on a nice white shirt and black pants and did just a little makeup before coming out.

The demon was lounging on her bed, holding a picture frame that she kept on the nightstand. He looked over when she came out and she pointedly ignored him, going into her closet for boots and a jacket.

"Right," he said, sitting up. "A name. Go ahead."

"I'm not giving you a name to kill someone," Kat snapped.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course you are," the demon said, tossing the picture onto the bed. "Everyone hates someone. Just pick anyone. It could even be some terrible leader in this country or even another. A neighbor you hate. Some pervert you heard about on the news. Just pick someone so I can go home."

"I'm not going to be an accomplice to murder," Kat hissed, slipping her boot on. "And you know what? I don't have time for this. I have an audition that I've been painstakingly preparing for and I'm not going to let you ruin it."

"The audition for that stupid play that gave you the words to actually summon a demon?" He scoffed. "Aren't you worried you'll summon another?"

"Now that I know what to avoid it shouldn't be a problem," Kat snapped, standing up and slipping her jacket on. "I have to go now. Leave me alone. This is important to me."

Kat walked out of her room but the demon appeared in front of her, stopping her advancement.

"That's all good and fine that this stupid play is important to you but you know what's important to me? Getting home. My hounds are probably wandering around the underworld thinking I've abandoned them!" He said, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

"You have... Dogs?" Kat asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yes, human. I have dogs. Dogs that I feed and take care of that are now just wandering aimlessly about. Do you have any idea how dangerous it is in the underworld? Give me a name so I can go home," he growled.

"I'm sorry about your dogs," Kat sighed. "But I can't do this right now. I need to focus. Just sit tight and stop calling me human, it sounds like an insult the way you say it," she said, brushing past him and going out the front door.

She only made it a few blocks before he appeared next to her, walking nonchalantly beside her with his hands stuffed in his pockets, as if it was completely natural he appeared out of air.

"We've got off on the wrong foot," he said, giving her a side-glance. "My name is Nex. What's yours?"

"Your name is Next?" Kat asked, looking over at him skeptically.

"Nex," he corrected, narrowing his eyes. "What's yours?"

"Katherine," she answered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Katherine," Nex laughed, throwing his head back.

"Why are you laughing at my name?" Kat asked, sending him a dirty look.

"Because that higher power you were calling to must have done this to fuck with me, that's why," Nex laughed, shaking his head. "Now what about this audition? Is there competition?"

"What do you mean by that? About my name?" Kat asked, stepping onto the bus.

"I mean your name, Katherine, it means 'pure'. About as far from anything that I am. You do seem rather pure," he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "You reek of virginity."

Kat's eyes widened and her pale skin turned red too easily. She turned away from him, crossing her arms.

"What's wrong? Did I offend you by stating the truth? How old are you anyway? Don't most humans lose their virginity while in forced school?" Nex taunted.

"Shut up," Kat snapped.

Several people looked over and frowned in confusion. It was then Kat remember no one could see him. She sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples, holding onto a bar as the bus started moving.

"If you're so embarrassed by it, why not do anything about it?" Nex asked. "Honestly, virginity only means something to those that want to sacrifice you for rituals or people who get some weird pleasure out of having a woman for the first time. It's actually safer for you to just get it over with."

Kat wanted to reply but bit her tongue. People were going to think she was crazy.

Nex grabbed her and turned her towards him, reaching into her pocket he pulled out her headphones and placed an earbud in her ear, hiding the other end in her pocket.

"There. Now they'll think you're on the phone," he said simply, crossing his arms and seeming to never lose balance even as the bus stopped abruptly and shifted everyone else.

"I don't want to talk to you," Kat hissed, gripping the bar tighter. "You're rude and scary and..." She glanced around and lower her voice, "invisible!" she yell-whispered. "So just leave me alone and let me focus."

She turned away from him and he sighed loudly but remained silent. Nex followed her off at her stop and into the theater where the auditions were being held. Kat checked in and waited in the back for her turn. Nex had disappeared when she was checking in and hadn't shown up again. She hoped he would just stay away until the audition was over.

"Hey Kat," Jason greeted, leaning against the wall next to her with a grin.

"Hi-hi," she stammered, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"You nervous?" He asked, inclining his head to the stage.

"A little," Kat admitted, shrugging.

"You shouldn't be," he said, nudging her shoulder with his. "You're going to do awesome," he winked, pushing off the wall and heading to the stage when his name was called. "You look really cute today, by the way."

Kat flushed at the compliment and Jason gave her one last smile before going out onto the stage. Kat sighed after him, unable to stop the smile.

"Kat?" Nex asked, suddenly appearing right next to her and making her jump.

"Don't do that," she hissed, smacking his arm.

"You said your name is Katherine," Nex said, crossing his arms.

"Kat is a nickname," Kat sighed.

"Is it?" Nex said, tilting his head to the side. "No, it doesn't suit you. Cats are vicious and attack with claws. Kitten would be much more suitable for you," he said with a teasing smile. "A kitten bats at you and tries and tries to get somewhere but in the end is just easy to pick up and push around, all talk and no real action. Kitten is much more you."

"Ugh," Kat groaned. "Do not call me that. That's such a gross nickname," she said, shuddering. "And I'm not weak, if you were an actual person with normal strength I would've fended you off."

"Sure you would have. Sorry, kitten. I'm afraid it suits you just too well to not use," Nex said, even more amused. "So, if you give me a name I'll help you seduce mister..." he glanced over at Jason, making a face. "Preppy, clean-cut, blondie, douchey. Really? That's your type?" He said, looking back at Kat skeptically. "How dreadfully boring."

Kat opened her mouth to speak but stopped when she saw Ashley approaching. She was in a tight dress that plunged down so far, she wouldn't need to bend over to give anyone a view of her cleavage, it was already all out there. Kat held in the groan and took a deep breath.

"Aww, Katherine, look at you like a little school girl just so excited to be noticed by her crush. And trying so hard to audition for a role we both know you won't get," Ashley said with fake enthusiasm. "It's adorable, really. It's adorable you think you can play with the big kids."

"Who's this bitch?" Nex asked, glaring at Ashley.

Kat ignored him the best she could and just stared at Ashley blankly. "If you're so confident then why do you feel the need to come and try to frazzle me?" Kat challenged.

"I don't need to," Ashley laughed, tossing back her blonde hair. "It's just fun to get in your head. You make it so easy. Who dressed you this morning? The nuns? I'm just wondering how you manage to pull off looking so innocent when you pine after Jason every day and probably think about him when you're alone, touching yourself because God knows no one else wants to touch you."

"This is the one," Nex growled, balling his fists. "Give me the go ahead and I'll kill her right now."

"Go away, Ashley," Kat said, shaking her head. "Practice your lines."

"I already practiced my lines," Ashley said, picking at her fingernails. "I practiced them with Jason last night," she taunted, a glint in her eye. "Well, practicing is a loose term. It did start some fun roleplaying though," she said with a wink before walking away with much more swing in her hips than she needed. "Good luck, sweetie. You'll need it."

Kat sighed in annoyance and tugged at her clothes, chewing on her lip and watching as Ashley went through her audition.

"Seriously. Give me the order and she's dead," Nex repeated.

"No," Kat hissed.

"Why? She's a cunt. She's being rude to you. Just let me kill her," Nex pressed.

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"For fuck's sake," he growled. "You're impossible."

"Katherine Milton?" The director called. "You're up."